This thread is exclusively for discussion of hyper-violent action movies and TV shows on streaming services. If you don't worship Iko Uwais, Andrew Koji, Joe Taslim, Yayan Ruhian, Sami Bouajila, et al., this may not be the spot for you.
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Thursday, 25 January 2024 02:05 (one year ago) link
Perfect thread name. I am here to learn!
― beard papa, Thursday, 25 January 2024 02:25 (one year ago) link
Raid 2 is so good if folks haven’t seen that. The car fight scenes are sublime.
― BlackIronPrison, Thursday, 25 January 2024 02:46 (one year ago) link
Both Raid movies are available as a 2 Blu-Ray set. I bought it on eBay the other day but it hasn't arrived yet.
I wish there was a physical version of The Night Comes For Us, but it's only streaming on Netflix. That movie is fucking savage.
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Thursday, 25 January 2024 03:04 (one year ago) link
Leo probably my fav Indian action spectacular from last year - super silly "mistaken identity...or is it???" conceit, satanic rituals, the first gang of baddies are sadistic to an insane degree that it feels like a 70's Italian film. It's also basically a remake of A History Of Violence. Same director's Kaithi is even better: darker, less sprawling, just one of the most tense films I've ever seen, "Wages Of Fear meets Assault On Precinct 13" would be the blithe capsule review.
Most South Korean action strikes me as classy rather than trashy (ambigous feelings on the idea of action cinema being "trash" anyway, even in a celebratory tone), but the Roundup series has a sort of blue collar vibe that I don't see much in other cinema from that country, rich with class analysis though it is. Ma Dong-seok just boxes and bullies his way through these, great fun.
The Lost Bullet films from France are very good, refreshingly devoid of any post-Besson winking.
― Daniel_Rf, Thursday, 25 January 2024 10:58 (one year ago) link
Big recommendation for Furie (haven’t seen the sequel yet)
― Elvis Telecom, Thursday, 25 January 2024 13:24 (one year ago) link
I watched The Bouncer tonight, a 2018 movie by Julien Leclercq starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, looking very weathered. He plays an ex-bodyguard turned bouncer living in semi-seclusion in Belgium who gets roped into working for a counterfeiter. I liked Van Damme's 80s movies, but his late-career turn toward the darkness in the Universal Soldier sequels and this movie is really something to see. Sami Bouajila is in this one, but he's the antagonist, not the hero. Some really good fights, and there's a nice car chase/shootout in an underground parking garage (with Van Damme at the wheel).
― Tahuti Watches L&O:SVU Reruns Without His Ape (unperson), Friday, 9 February 2024 04:12 (one year ago) link
It's on Freevee through Amazon, so there were about five commercial breaks but none longer than 90 seconds and they were placed with some logic.
Sounds good... have you seen JCVD?
― m0stly clean (Slowsquatch), Friday, 9 February 2024 07:04 (one year ago) link
At the risk of classing it up, The Vulture's Stunts of the Year awards: https://www.vulture.com/article/stunt-awards-2024.html?origSession=D231121YlHQFpLcsD%2FW40B56qE9VO3LzRKKo93swm8FIDTizn0%3D
Also includes Vimeo links to the sequences in question
― Andrew Farrell, Tuesday, 5 March 2024 22:09 (eleven months ago) link
i'm watching The Tourist series on Netflix. digging it so far. mystery, intrigue, blood.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 5 March 2024 22:18 (eleven months ago) link
i like House Of Ninjas too on Netflix. but i haven't finished it yet.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 5 March 2024 22:42 (eleven months ago) link
Started watching a really pretty bad movie called The Bricklayer on Netflix last night — an ultra-clichéd "grizzled veteran spy/superman returns for One Last Mission to take out his former best friend turned hated enemy" story, starring Aaron Eckhart for some reason — and partway through I started looking for info about it and holy hell, this thing was directed by Renny Harlin! I didn't make it to the end, but what I have seen so far is wildly uneven. Like, there's one really well-crafted fight scene, but two really poorly edited ones, and the script really feels like one of those old joke tweets about "I fed 1000 action movies into AI and here's what it coughed up". Eckhart delivers all his lines like he's making fun of Christian Bale as Batman, and all the other actors seem like second choices made because they couldn't afford who they actually wanted. I've only got about 20 minutes left so I'll probably blast through it sometime today, but man, I can't recommend it.
― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Monday, 15 April 2024 14:57 (nine months ago) link
speaking of directors falling off a cliff, i watched Fear The Night the other day and didn't even realize it was directed by he-man playwright and director neil labute. he mostly just directs t.v. now. it could have been directed by a robot outfitted with nothing but chatgpt. it starred action star Maggie Q who could have been played by a hologram of a brick given how little charisma she had. it was yet another *storm the house but oh no the bad guys didn't count on ex-marine sassy peterson...blah blah* movies. which i'm fine with and i have watched a million of them but this was bad. it was no The Wrath of Becky.
― scott seward, Monday, 15 April 2024 15:26 (nine months ago) link
I made it to the end of The Bricklayer and it actually managed to get worse. There are several scenes in which dialogue was clearly looped in after a test edit (watching on headphones makes ADR shit really obvious) and even then the writing is barely adequate. There is one great scene where one character absolutely destroys another character's hand with a sledgehammer, though. Kinda worth seeing it just for that.
― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Tuesday, 16 April 2024 00:54 (nine months ago) link
I mean the Harpers piece about the destruction of Hollywood today was pretty great but if a side effect is that no-marks like Harlin and Labute are just doing this shit all day rather than otherwise bothering us then I'll look for the upside.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 16 April 2024 01:52 (nine months ago) link
So tonight I watched Trigger Warning, a Netflix action movie starring Jessica Alba(!) as ""a Special Forces commando [who] uncovers a dangerous conspiracy when she returns to her hometown looking for answers into her beloved father's death". I was expecting formulaic dumbness, even laughability, but it was actually pretty good! Solid fight scenes, semi-believable plot, a good villain who doesn't get more backstory than he deserves. Alba's the executive producer, and chose the director, an Indonesian woman named Mouly Surya, who made a movie in 2017 that I really kinda want to check out now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg_W1bRshIk
Here's a video that Alba and Surya made about the fight choreography and Alba's training:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKzDou3N2eU
― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Sunday, 23 June 2024 03:32 (seven months ago) link
i watched that tonight. i didn't love it but i like her and i liked her knife fighting. i mean it was kinda formulaic dumbness. she should just make netflix movies with that same character.
― scott seward, Sunday, 23 June 2024 03:41 (seven months ago) link
i loved this movie on netflix but nobody on ilx will watch it. i've seen it twice! not straight-up genre action, but plenty of action that's for sure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpUmkzx5zqw
― scott seward, Sunday, 23 June 2024 03:45 (seven months ago) link
I've got that one in my queue; I read a good review of it somewhere, maybe RogerEbert.com?
― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Sunday, 23 June 2024 03:49 (seven months ago) link
Marlina the Murderer is very solid
― beamish13, Monday, 24 June 2024 03:22 (seven months ago) link
It's been a long time since I could legitimately describe a movie as stunningly violent. MONKEY MAN, which is now streaming on Amazon, is STUNNINGLY violent. And fucking awesome. (And anti-fascist, in a specifically Indian way.) Highest possible recommendation.
― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Wednesday, 16 October 2024 02:49 (three months ago) link
I agree it's great... but doesn't really fit as "action trash", it has higher aspirations (what with all the political stuff and general... emotions)
― Nhex, Wednesday, 16 October 2024 02:51 (three months ago) link
Unperson, what do you think of Timo Tjahjanto ? He's got a new one out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsKo8nvOfck
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 17 October 2024 15:47 (three months ago) link
That's out today? I know what I'm watching tonight, then. Tjahjanto rules.
― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Thursday, 17 October 2024 16:10 (three months ago) link
The 2023 Indian action movie KILL is on Hulu.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da7lKeeS67c
I knew it was gonna be pretty hardcore, but honestly, unless you like splatter movies as much as action movies, maybe stay away. It's brutally violent; the hero becomes an absolute monster by the end. But, on the other hand, it shows the emotional impact of violent death like nothing since Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN 2. It's a lot.
― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Tuesday, 4 February 2025 03:54 (one week ago) link
Huh. Based on the enthusiasm I was expecting "The Raid," but I watched about 30 minutes or so last night and just wasn't feeling it. It felt very amateurish, or at least the kind of amateur that can be made to look more slick with digital tools. Did like how one protagonist was a skinny dude with a mustache in a sweater. Maybe I'll try again some other time.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 4 February 2025 13:05 (one week ago) link
Hated the way this movie was marketed "just pure violence, no massala, no songs". What if I want musical numbers and goofy humour with my hyperviolence? A movie that just omits what makes Indian cinema interesting doesn't sound like a great time.
― a ZX spectrum is haunting Europe (Daniel_Rf), Tuesday, 4 February 2025 13:37 (one week ago) link
To be fair, what I saw (before the hyperviolence really kicks in?) was corny enough that I expected song and dance.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 4 February 2025 13:43 (one week ago) link
yeah, totally. some nice choreo, but as someone who loves the raid, trains, and is very curious about exploring more indian action, this movie was a big letdown.
i think marco is supposed to be even more violent. ill watch that too, i guess.
xp
― (⊙_⊙?) (original bgm), Tuesday, 4 February 2025 13:48 (one week ago) link
"To be fair, what I saw (before the hyperviolence really kicks in?) was corny enough that I expected song and dance."
you should have waited. the title card doesn't show up until 45 minutes in. i'd say out of a 140 minute run time its 125 minutes of action.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 4 February 2025 14:28 (one week ago) link
Maybe I'll give it more time! Don't think I made it to the title card, but didn't particularly like much of what came before it.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 4 February 2025 14:30 (one week ago) link
this review was impressed with non-knife elements of the film:
"Kill uses Amrit as a device to ask whether the service protects all people or just serves the political elite and their divisive policies, and not least whether we can trust soldiers not to take advantage of their power."
"It's a move made amid the assault on his mob, who turn out to be uncles, cousins, fathers and sons. What was meant to be a simple robbery has become a mass family murder, and now each neck snapped is no longer just a replaceable petty thief, but a blood relative to be mourned."
― scott seward, Tuesday, 4 February 2025 14:35 (one week ago) link
yeah, its not going to be a movie for everyone. its pretty brutal. i guess i just like trains and knife-fighting. conversely, i only made it 35 or 40 minutes into brad pitt's dumb bullet train movie.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 4 February 2025 14:36 (one week ago) link
A lot of people liked "Train to Busan" (zombie train action with family drama), but that was another one that just seemed kind of lame to me.
I dunno, I like trains and knife-fighting just fine, but I also never would have watched a minute of that Brad Pitt movie, lol.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 4 February 2025 14:43 (one week ago) link
There's a fair amount of social subtext to KILL that I could definitely see playing very differently in India than here, and the fact that the robbers aren't faceless goons but are a family who are now being hunted and killed on a train kinda flips the whole movie around at the 1/3 mark. The music is an interesting choice, too; it makes the action less exhilarating than depressing. I don't think I'd want to watch the movie again, but I'm glad I saw it.
― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Tuesday, 4 February 2025 14:55 (one week ago) link
hmm, going to have to ask my coworker about it. his main complaint about indian cinema is the song and dance numbers and his dad worked for the indian rail system. sounds like they made it just for him!
― ɥɯ ︵ (°□°) (mh), Tuesday, 4 February 2025 14:58 (one week ago) link
i don't know how you can be an action movie fan and not be used to sappy intros. this one was felt light and economical to me. we were on the train in a flash.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 4 February 2025 15:09 (one week ago) link
xxp
hmm, I dunno, it was kinda "interesting" I suppose but the whole "violent revenge makes you a monster too" thing is hardly new and can still be delivered in a way that doesn't stifle the thrills, e.g. I saw the devil. I got quite tired of the whole violent action -> mourning -> escalation cycle, personally. but I went in with huge expectations for the movie tho, so could just be a me problem...
not a fan of train to busan either. maybe I'm just particular about my train flix.
― (⊙_⊙?) (original bgm), Tuesday, 4 February 2025 15:10 (one week ago) link
I think "The Raid" still sets the standard for both hyperviolence and economy. This movie was called "Kill," but that movie could have just as well be called "Get Him!"
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 4 February 2025 15:14 (one week ago) link
for the record, The Shadow Strays was my favorite action movie of 2024 AND my favorite movie of 2024. The Brutalist wishes.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 4 February 2025 15:14 (one week ago) link
"the whole "violent revenge makes you a monster too" thing is hardly new"
one of the points of that review was that in India having a soldier turn into a monster could be a big deal to some people. in India.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 4 February 2025 15:16 (one week ago) link
fair enough!
― (⊙_⊙?) (original bgm), Tuesday, 4 February 2025 15:17 (one week ago) link
Since I doubt it goes in this direction, "Kill" would have ruled if the two soldier bros died early on and the *woman/bride* went on a train-bound kill/revenge spree.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 4 February 2025 15:22 (one week ago) link
Btw, coming back to this thread reminded me that I need to see "The Shadow Strays," *that* director is bonkers. Looks like he's making the sequel to the Bob Odenkirk vigilante movie!
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 4 February 2025 15:24 (one week ago) link
"and the *woman/bride* went on a train-bound kill/revenge spree."
sadly, she really sucks at knife-fighting.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 4 February 2025 15:29 (one week ago) link
I just saw a trailer for BLOOD RED SKY which is about what happens when a team of vicious terrorists takes over a passenger plane that happens to have as one of its passengers an extremely protective mom who is also a vampire. Fits here because I think it’s at the very least a German co-production. Looks like Nosferatu crossed with passenger 57.
― omar little, Tuesday, 4 February 2025 16:33 (one week ago) link
lol vampires on a plane!
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 4 February 2025 16:53 (one week ago) link
always good to have a thread where i can tell people to watch The Night Comes For Us which is fucking Raid-level amazing
― Zurich is Starmed (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 4 February 2025 17:55 (one week ago) link
I liked Blood Red Sky. It was fun.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 4 February 2025 17:55 (one week ago) link
The Night Comes For Us is great. Same director as The Shadow Strays. he's directing the Nobody sequel so that should be bonkers.
― scott seward, Tuesday, 4 February 2025 18:00 (one week ago) link
also not to be missed on Netflix in case you missed it is this one. Stealing my review from my movie thread from last year:
"watched Bangkok Breaking: Heaven and Hell tonight on Netflix. action-packed for realz. like, its 2 & half hours long and 2 hours or more of that is crazy action and civil unrest and organ-harvesting and drug gangs and rich guy armies and running and fire and pigs on fire and bloodshed as our heroes try to escape a doomed and endless maze of a housing project. from Thailand. like an epic widescreen version of Buy Bust without the claustrophobia. based on the Bangkok Breaking t.v. show and made by the same director but i have yet to watch the show. you definitely don't need to watch the show to watch the movie."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrswRTLrrOw
― scott seward, Tuesday, 4 February 2025 18:03 (one week ago) link
haven't watched Nobody, will totally watch the sequel
― Zurich is Starmed (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 4 February 2025 18:04 (one week ago) link